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Sustainability in sports lighting

Perth, 14th February 2010

First of all an update…we (Dutch) got our first Olympic gold medal in the 5000m speed skating ! Incidentally I read that of the 79 medals won by the Dutch in winter Olympics, 76 came from speed skating, one of the most lopsided sports achievements in country history :).

With the Winter Olympics now well under way, one can wonder in how far sustainability has made its entry into sports lighting. A quick search reveals that the Richmond Oval where the speed skating event is held, is classified for LEED silver and (according to press releases), continues to collect awards for its design, construction and integration of sustainable building practices. I could not dig out any specific info on the lighting but would expect that in regards to LEED energy saving and control of light pollution would have been applied. From the venue description I understand that one of the public art installations features two lanterns driven by wind energy!

While I can see how “sustainable” lighting finds it way in the actual architectural design of the sports venues (day lighting, renewable energy, etc) it is probably more difficult to apply it to the actual sports lighting itself. Sports lighting is dictated by the standards for different levels of competition so there is not much room to move other than moving the sports to be played in daylight! I would think that renewable energy for the high performance sports lighting systems is still too big a task?

PS: To my lovely Alex, happy Valentine’s Day! Your unwavering support means the world to me! To all “lovers” out there, enjoy your Valentine’s Day. To those celebrating Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fat Choy…have a roaring Year of the Tiger!